Melchizedek - Greater than the Priesthood of Levi

I sure did enjoy that worship. When I say enjoy it, I mean that I enjoyed worshiping through the worship, worship through song. I think about what we were singing Christ my Savior and my God. That's possessive, that's personal, that's relational. I hope and pray that you can sing that, that Christ is your Savior and your God and you walk with Him and serve Him and love Him and you know Him. I love that. It's very very worshipful for me. I appreciate that. Well if you would take your Bible and turn back to Hebrews chapter 7. I know we read our verses earlier in our scripture reading but we'll be in verses 1 to 10 this morning.

But before we wade off into the deep waters of chapter 7, I think some of you know that chapter 7 is the waters. We need to see that we have two things going on here. First of all the author of the book of Hebrews was coming back to where he left off in chapter 5 verse 10. In chapter 5 verses 1 to 10 we saw that he explained that Christ Jesus is our perfect high priest. I like that. Our perfect high priest. And the author did this by comparing Christ and his priesthood to that of the Old Testament priests and their priesthood.

And then the author explained that because of Christ's perfect obedience and being offered as a sacrifice for sin, he was designated by God a high priest in the order of Melchizedek. So here in chapter 7 the author of the book is picking up right where he left off in chapter 5 verse 10. But we have to remember why the author interrupted this teaching to begin with. Actually he did this for one reason which was dictated by two realities in the church. You can see these realities as problems, problems. The first reality there were some true believers in this church that were terribly immature.

So from chapter 5 verse 14 to chapter 3 verse 6 the author was writing to call these immature believers to work hard towards spiritual maturity. But then the second reality there were some false believers in this church that were in danger of apostasy. And apostasy was leaving the faith, turning your back on the faith. So from chapter 6 verses 4 to 8 the author was warning these false believers to beware of the very serious danger of apostasy. And then from verse 9 to the end of the chapter he was writing to encourage them to persevere in all of these things because God's promises and plans are certain they are true.

So the reality of these two groups in this church led to the one reason the author interrupted his explanation of Jesus as high priest in the order of King Melchizedek. As a church and as a people they simply weren't unable to receive these things and to understand these things and to get their minds around these things. Now right here we must see that we may have some who are in the same situation. Let me explain what I mean. We may have some here who are not spiritually mature. Some of you may not be spiritually mature and some of you may not be mature because you've just come to faith in Christ.

So I'll bring that up to you to show you that you may not be able to grasp these things. And if you were one who is spiritually immature and you struggle to grasp these things I just encourage you to roll up your sleeves to work hard maybe engage in some conversation with one who does understand these things so as to try to grasp what we have in chapter 7. But then we may have some who are not truly converted to Christ. So if you are not a true born-again believer you're not going to be able to get these things. They will go past you over you and around you.

But I'm thankful that we do have mature believers in our church and I encourage you as a mature brother and sister in Christ let's work to understand these things because these things are given to us for many many reasons. But the second thing we have here in chapter 7 is the most important. Here we come to the main point of the book of Hebrews. Chapter 7 is all about the priesthood of Melchizedek being greater than that of the Old Covenant Levitical priests but on top of that chapter 7 is all about the priesthood of Jesus being greater than the priesthood of Melchizedek.

So chapter 7 is all about the great and the greater high priesthood of Christ our Lord which is all about the superiority and the preeminence of Christ our Lord and that's where we get the title of the series that's where we get the title of the theme of the entire book. Now at this time I want us to go back and I want us to read our verses and then I'm going to explain how we're going to approach or divide our verses. So let's go back to the text verses 1 to 10.

"For this Melchizedek king of Salem priest of the Most High God met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him and to him Abraham portioned a tenth or a tithe a part of everything. He is first by translation of his name king of righteousness and then he is also king of Salem that is king of peace. He is without father or mother a genealogy having neither beginning of days nor end of life but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth that would be a tithe of the spoils and those descendants of Levi who received the priestly office have commandment in the law to take tithes from the people that is from their brothers or kinsmen though these are also descended from Abraham. But this man who does not have his descendant from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. In the one case tithes are received by mortal men but in the other case by one of whom it is testified that he lives.

One might even say that Levi himself who receives tithes paid tithes through Abraham for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him." Now out of these verses we're gonna see that the author gives a short historical summary of Melchizedek that's in verses 1 to 2 and of course he is referencing what we see in Genesis chapter 14 and in the summary we will see that he was explaining the superiority of Melchizedek's priesthood over and above the Levitical priesthood we see that in verses 1 to 3 and then we will see that he moves to prove these things and that's what verses 4 to 10 are all about.

And this leads me to the main point of the verses which is where the title of the message comes from. This is all about the fact that Melchizedek was and is greater than those old covenant Levitical priests. This is all about the priesthood of Melchizedek being greater than the priesthood of the Levites. So the title of the message this morning is Melchizedek greater than the priesthood of Levi. Melchizedek greater than the priesthood of Levi and I will do what I do sometimes I will add to that title at the end of the message. So let's dive off into the message. Number one I want us to see the summary of Melchizedek the priest king.

The summary of Melchizedek this priest king this comes out of verses 1 to 2. Now simply this is a summary of the only historical account we have of this mysterious figure known as Melchizedek. Genesis 14 tells us of the events that took place when Abraham went to war to rescue his nephew Lot. Because Lot was living in Sodom he was caught up in this regional war and as a result he was taken into captivity. But Abraham mustered his trained men to defeat these marauding kings so as to rescue Lot from captivity. And after Abraham had defeated these kings this mysterious Melchizedek appeared on the scene from verse 18 to verse 23.

Now before we get into this historical summary of Melchizedek and into who he was what he was we need to see a few things. First off Melchizedek is only mentioned in three places in Scripture in Genesis 18 excuse me in Genesis 14 verse 18 to 23 there is a short reference in Psalm 110 verse 4 and then here in Hebrews we see him mentioned two times in Hebrews 5 we see him mentioned one time in Hebrews 6 five times in chapter 7 and I'm referencing the English Standard Version by saying that. Now what is my point here?

We know very very little about this man very little about this man that is why he is often called the mysterious king Melchizedek. Now I want to pause here and give you a little warning here I was discussing this with one of the men of the church even before the message before the service. Be careful not to insert things into the blank spaces in the Scripture because we know very very little about Melchizedek we just don't interpret the blank spaces another words we take what God gives us and that is enough but we need to address certain opinions about who and what he was.

Some say that this man was an angel who took on the form of a man but I do not believe that that was the case because in Hebrews we see that his function as a priest was that of a man and some say that he was actually the pre-incarnate Christ this would be called a theophany which means a visible manifestation of God in the form of a man but that cannot be the case either in my opinion because Hebrews 7 3 tells us that he resembled the Son of God which means that he was a type or a shadow of what was to come in Christ but what do we need to see here I believe that Melchizedek was an actual man and a very very important historical figure yes he was and is mysterious because we only know just a little bit about this man but we must see that he was and is extremely important let me show you what I mean because he was a type of Christ he was a shadow of Christ and a picture of Christ chapter 7 verse 3 says that he was resembling the Son of God that's a quotation from the English Standard the New American says he was made like the Son of God and this comes from a word in the original which means to model to copy to be made light so I have a question for us here if Melchizedek was and is a type of Christ a partial picture of Christ because he was made to resemble Christ is it not important that we study and understand this mysterious Christ like man yes it's very very important and we can't let the difficulty of these things cause us to shy away from these things now let's look quickly at this historical summary first let's see who he was we see this at the beginning of verse 1 and verse 2 let's notice who he was here the author says that Melchizedek was the king of Salem and scholars tell us that Salem was the ancient name for the city or the region of Jerusalem so he was an actual king an actual ruler the king of Salem and we also see that Melchizedek was the priest of the Most High God and we will see that this phrase priest of the Most High God is loaded with meaning so he was both priests which was and is a religious role and he was king which was and is a royal in a governing role but we see more of who he was in verse 2 the author tells us that the name Melchizedek means king of righteousness and this term king of Salem it means king of peace but we have to ask what does this king of peace mean this does not mean that he did not have conflict or war this peace was not the absence of conflict but the presence of spiritual blessing and this piece is a wholeness a completeness and an inner peace that comes from a right relationship with God now this is the point Melchizedek was a righteous man or a man in right standing with God he was a man of peace which meant he possessed a spiritual and a personal wholeness and a completeness because he was at peace with God and he possessed the very peace of God and because he was a righteous man and a man who possessed a peace of God he was a righteous king and a king of peace so we see who he was in his person he was in a religious position as a priest and he was righteous and he possessed a peace of God and he was in a royal position as a king and he was a righteous king and a righteous ruler and notice this determined what he did let me say that again as a righteous king and a king of peace he was a righteous ruler and a peaceful ruler and now I want us to see that there is a fact about Melchizedek that applies to us who you are determines what you do you see that about this man who he was determined what he did and who you are determines what you do and what we do is a reflection of what we are and who we are but then second let's see what he did we see this at the end of verse 1 we see what he did now here in verse 1 and 2 the author is referencing what happened back in Genesis 14 Abraham was victorious and defeating those marauding kings and rescuing his nephew Lot and Genesis 14 tells us that Melchizedek brought out wine and bread to Abraham after his victory but the author of Hebrews does not mention those events notice he only mentions what happened next as a true and legitimate priest of God Melchizedek blessed Abraham which was a blessing from God through Melchizedek for Abraham and this was not just a blessing in word only this was not some kind of a formality or a wish or a hope so blessing this was an actual and effectual blessing in that Melchizedek truly had the position and the ability to bestow a blessing from God upon Abraham because he was priest of the Most High God so Melchizedek truly bestowed a blessing from God upon Abraham but then third let's see what he received let's see what Melchizedek received we see this in verse 2 here we see that Melchizedek received a tithe or a tenth of everything Abraham received from this war Genesis 14 tells us that as a result of his total victory in that war Abraham took all of the spoils of war and he gave Melchizedek a tithe of everything not because he was commanded to but because he was moved on by God to do so and because he obviously saw Melchizedek as a faithful and deserving priest of the Most High God so we see that Melchizedek received this tithe but he received more than money he received respect and honor as a priest of the Most High God from the great man of the faith Abraham so from verses 1 to 2 we see who Melchizedek was what he did and what he received and these things tell us of the greatness of Melchizedek and his priesthood now notice what we see here the author of Hebrews is explaining who Melchizedek was and in doing this he was revealing the greatness of this man and the greatness of his priesthood now a question did Abraham see the greatness of Melchizedek did Abraham see the greatness of Melchizedek and his priesthood well yes he certainly did and we will see this more in verses 4 to 10 but let's continue number two we see the superiority of Melchizedek's priesthood I say that it is perceived we see this in verses 1 to 3 we see this superiority of Melchizedek's priesthood and to me it has to be perceived I will explain now to see who Melchizedek was and such all we had to do is observe what we see in Genesis 14 and here here in Hebrews that's pretty easy to me but to see the superiority of Melchizedek's priesthood we have to compare what we see here in Melchizedek to the old covenant Levitical priests and their priesthood we have to remember something and we will see this the author was not only showing that Melchizedek was a type of Christ and a picture of Christ he was and is also showing that Melchizedek was and is greater than the old covenant Levitical priests and their priesthood but to see this comparison we have to know at least a little about the Levitical priesthood and what it was all about now I'll quickly give us a summary this is very very basic but I think this will help you of the 12 tribes of Israel the tribe of Levi was purposefully set apart by God for one particular purpose and that was religious works and even though all priests were of the tribe of Levi not all of the tribe of Levi were priests but those who were not priests served as assistants to the priest they were most likely those singers and those instrumentalists that we see in the Old Testament and they did other things that we see as helping the priests and serving in religious service but with the Levites we could say that we see a separation of church and state we know what that term means let me explain what I mean the Levites were definitely under the authority of the king like all of the other tribes but their priestly duties were never under the control of the king and there was more separation even than we may know on the surface according to the Old Testament law the Levites were never to be king their responsibilities were strictly laid out by God as religious in nature and not ruling not governmental and when it came to the duties of the Levites they were the ones who performed all of the different priestly sacrifices as seen in the Old Testament and this included the service of the high priest on the day of Atonement which was the most important day and time in Jewish life and this sacrifice was not a one-time sacrifice these sacrifices had to be repeated over and over year after year year after year and this tells us that there was no permanence provided in those sacrifices there was no permanent forgiveness of sin provided there was no permanent righteousness provided and imparted and if that was the case and it was there was no permanent peace provided for the worshippers just like the sacrifices were not permanent the priestly service of the priests was not permanent either Numbers 8 Numbers chapter 8 tells us that a priest served from the age of 25 until the age of 50 and then his service was over but this priestly service was not open to any and all all the priests had to be descended from Levi and also from Aaron who was the brother of Moses so the Levitical priesthood was a hereditary position and a man who served as a priest served because he was born into that tribe and born into that family so now with that very basic idea and understanding of the Levitical priesthood in mind we can see the comparison between Melchizedek's priesthood up against the priesthood of the Levites and here in verses 1 to 3 we see five comparisons and I think when I work through them they're going to just come to the surface for you so first the author tells us that Melchizedek's priesthood was universal not exclusive to Israel let me explain here the author tells us that Melchizedek was priest of the Most High God I'm referencing the English Standard Version priest of the Most High God in here in this phrase the author does not use the name for God that identified God as the God of the Israelites let me explain God took the name of Jehovah or Yahweh and those names for God were used in relation to God's covenant with his covenant people Israel but here the author of Hebrews uses a different name for God which was and is the universal name for God now this is the point the author does not say that Melchizedek was priest of the Most High Jehovah God or Yahweh he says that Melchizedek was the priest of the Most High God and he uses the universal name for God so that means that the author was and is saying that Melchizedek's priesthood was not limited to Abraham and his descendants the Jews but beyond the Jews his priesthood was to any and all of God's people his priesthood was universal in nature now question think with me was the priesthood of the Levites for only the Jews and the nation of Israel yes another question was and is Jesus priesthood for only the Jews or was and is his priesthood universal for any and all beyond the Jews well of course it is now do you see how Jesus was designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek like we see in Hebrews 510 the picture should be getting brighter for you second he tells us that Melchizedek's priesthood was royal as well we have already seen that Melchizedek was not only a priest but he was a king as well and to make sure that this fact is seen in verses 1 to 2 the author says that he was a king four different times so his priesthood was royal as well now question here were the Levitical priests royal could they be king as well well the answer to that is no but another question was Jesus priest and King was Jesus priest and King what did the inscription say that Pilate placed above Jesus while he was on the cross he said he was the king of the Jews because he wasn't is now do you see how Jesus was designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek just like we see in Hebrews 510 see the picture is getting brighter and brighter for you then third the author tells us that my cousin X priest who is hood was righteous and peaceful the author clearly tells us that Melchizedek was a king of righteousness and peace his very name means king of righteousness and he says that Melchizedek was not only righteous but he possessed the very peace of God but we never see that said of the Levitical priests and their priesthood their priesthood their services their sacrifices were to bring the people to a place of righteousness and peace but those services and sacrifices provided by the Levitical priests and priesthood were at best temporary that is why their services and their sacrifices had to be repeated over and over year after year year after year now a question was Jesus his priesthood and his sacrifice on the cross of righteousness and peace Christ Jesus possessed and possesses righteousness and peace his righteousness was that of righteousness and peace and his sacrifice on the cross provides and provided a permanent righteousness and a permanent peace for his people now do you see how Jesus was designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek like we see in Hebrews 510 again the picture is getting brighter but then forth he tells us that Melchizedek's priesthood was personal it was not hereditary let's go back and look at verse 3 because this is where this comes from the author says he that's Melchizedek is without father or mother a genealogy having neither beginning of days nor end of life but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever now this is what the author wasn't his saying here this is rather simple this does not mean that he was born out of thin air this does not mean that he did not possess human heredity this simply means that there was in his no record of his origin or his physical heredity but a question could that be said of the Levitical priests no the Levitical priests had to be of the family and line of the tribe of Levi and a direct descendant of Aaron and they had to be able to prove their heredity now right here you may say hold on a minute timeout pastor Jesus had a proven genealogy so this argument is breaking down yes Jesus had a proven genealogy but his genealogy had no bearing on his priesthood just like Melchizedek's genealogy had no bearing on his priesthood now do you see how Jesus was designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek just like we see in Hebrews 5 10 again the picture is getting brighter and then fifth the author tells us that Melchizedek's priesthood was eternal now here in verse 3 the author tells us that the priesthood of Melchizedek is for forever but a question if he was a man and he was how can this be it is not that Melchizedek lived for forever as priest of the Most High God it is that his particular priesthood the priesthood in which he ministered that priesthood was and is eternal simply he is eternal in that he is preserved here in the scriptures and the scriptures are eternal now question could this be said of the Levitical priesthood you might say yes because the Levitical priesthood is preserved in the scriptures and the scriptures are forever hold on a minute Hebrews 8 13 says the old covenant is obsolete which means the Levitical priests and their priesthood those things are obsolete as well what a question is Jesus in his priesthood eternal yes almost all of Hebrews chapter 1 tells us of the eternality of Jesus as the Son of God who made purification for sin and who is at the right hand of the majesty on high right now in Hebrews 7 25 says that Jesus always lives to make intercession for those who draw near to him now do you see how Jesus was designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek like we see in Hebrews 5 10 the picture is getting bright so notice what we see here these things are not on the surface I know they've got to be dug out by comparing the priesthood of Melchizedek with the priesthood or up against the priesthood of the Levites and in that comparison we can see that the priesthood of Melchizedek was and is greater much greater there's no comparison to the Levites and their priesthood and I have touched on the fact that Melchizedek in his priesthood and kingship is a shadow a picture of what we see in Christ Jesus and this is something we will get more into starting at verse 11 and this leads me back to this question that I ask earlier if Melchizedek was and is a type of Christ a partial picture of Christ because he was made to resemble Christ is it not important that we study and work hard to understand the mysteries of this Christ like man Melchizedek yes it's extremely important but you know there may be some doubters here there were some doubters in this congregation I will come back to this congregation in this context in a little while but if there are any doubters here starting in verse 4 the author begins to prove what he's been saying so that leads me to number 3 the superiority of Melchizedek's priesthood is proven verses 4 to 10 the superiority of Melchizedek's priesthood is proven now here the author offers three reasons why the priesthood of Melchizedek wasn't is greater than the Levitical priests and their priesthood and what the author does here he makes several points to prove his case he offers three points of proof first proof Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek now on the surface this proof may not be seen by us right away but in the ancient world it was a common thing for tithes to be given to important and respected religious leaders and what was implied in this practice was the subjection of the inferior to the superior in these things reverence respect and honor was given to the respected superior religious leader and for those in their day they would have picked up on this right away but there is one detail I want to point out here notice the end of verse 4 the English Standard reads a tenth of the spoils the new American says choices spoils in this phrase here comes from a word in the original that literally means from the top of the heap and this tells us that Abraham did not just simply give a tithe to Melchizedek he gave him a tithe from the best of the best of the best you know I thought about something that applies to us today I have taught thoroughly on what Christian giving should look like we believe in the tithe we believe that members of Christ life church and believers should tithe the regularly a tenth of their income and then give offerings above and beyond that but let me ask you a question do you tithe willingly off the top do you tithe from the very very best of the best it's almost like we have a picture of Abraham taking the best of the best of those spoils and running running willingly to Melchizedek to tithe because that's what he did do we tithe like Abraham willingly with our hearts overflowing or do we clench our teeth when we write that check Abraham didn't he didn't do that but what this tells us is this Abraham saw Melchizedek as a very respected in honored spiritual leader as priest of the Most High God he was truly submitting himself to one that he saw as an honored and revered one a superior one I like how William McDonald expresses what's seen here he uses the example of the stars in the sky he says and I'm quoting since Abraham was one of the greatest stars in the Hebrew firmament it follows that Melchizedek must have been a star of even greater magnitude because he was but there's more now I'll make this simple the Levitical priests both collected tithes and they paid tithes as required by the law and all of the Levitical priests could trace their heritage back to Abraham we see that in verse 6 but Melchizedek who had no heritage given he received tithes from the top of the heap the greatest of all from Abraham but notice Melchizedek gave no tithe so proof number one that Melchizedek in his priesthood was greater than the priesthood of the Levites in giving this tithe as he did Abraham submitted himself to Melchizedek as the superior spiritual leader as priest of the Most High God second proof Melchizedek blessed Abraham we see that at the end of verse 6 to verse 7 now we've seen this but not only did Melchizedek received tithes from the best or the top of the heap from Abraham Melchizedek blessed Abraham and now just like with the tithe this is something that we may not even notice in our day but in the ancient world the giving of a blessing was a very serious and significant act now we have already seen what this is but we need to make sure we understand that Melchizedek the respected in the honored spiritual leader was bestowing a blessing on the one who was in submission to the one who was giving the blessing now notice from Genesis 14 and from these verses in Hebrews there is no mention of Melchizedek claiming to be superior and there is no mention of Abraham claiming to be the inferior but it is clearly seen and expressed in their actions and it's clearly expressed in Hebrews and again this blessing was an actual and an effectual blessing God was actually blessing Abraham through Melchizedek so proof number two that Melchizedek in his priesthood was greater than the priesthood of the Levites by receiving the spiritual blessing from Melchizedek Abraham submitted himself to Melchizedek as a spiritual leader superior to him as priests of the Most High God and then third proof Melchizedek's priesthood is eternal we see this in verse 8 to 10 just like in these other verses the author is repeating what he has already said but he's adding a few more things along the way now here in verse 8 he references the Levitical priests and he says that their case and in their case as mortal men they died but he transitions in the verse by saying but in the case of others he lives and the other here is clearly Melchizedek now it needs to be seen but the author was not saying that Melchizedek did not die he was contrasting Melchizedek up against the Levitical priests who did die but Melchizedek lived and lives in and through his testimony from the scriptures but the author adds one more thing in verses 9 to 10 here the author is saying that Levi himself that would be the Levitical priests they received tides and they paid tides notice through Abraham I want to read those verses one might even say that Levi the Levitical priests himself who received tides paid tides through Abraham now how could this be how could this happen since the Levitical priests did not leave live in the day of Abraham what we have here is a way of speaking where the ancestor is included with the descendants and this was very common in the scripture I'll give you an example in Genesis 25 23 it was said that two nations were in the womb of Rebecca it doesn't say that two children were in the womb of Rebecca it said that two nations were in the womb of Rebecca now a question were there two nations literally in the womb of Rebecca no that was figurative language another example in 1st Corinthians 15 22 Paul said that in Adam all die now a question are all men and man literally in Adam well no that's figurative language so the author was saying that because the Levitical priests were descendants of Abraham being his descendants they paid ties to Melchizedek through Abraham so proof number three that Melchizedek and his priesthood was greater than the priesthood of the Levites because Abraham tied to Melchizedek the way he did he submitted himself to Melchizedek as a superior spiritual leader as priests of the Most High God and the Levitical priests are seen as doing the very same thing but cause they were descendants of Abraham so notice what we see here the author says in verses 4 to 10 what he had already said before but he adds along the way and the point he was making wasn't as simple he was showing and proving that Melchizedek was superior to Abraham and because the Levitical priests are seen as being in Abraham they were in subjection to Melchizedek as well now in moving on from the verses how do we need to conclude and what do we need to take away from these verses first and foremost we need to remember the original recipients of this letter this was a Jewish congregation scholars tell us they were basically three kinds of people in this church some of them were truly converted to Christ some were professing believers but they had not been born again or converted to Christ so they were Christian in name only and some were not professing but they were somehow associated with the church and the author was writing to warn them not to go back to their old life in Judaism and back under the old covenant and this was a very real danger for those who were not converted to Christ and this temptation was a real hindrance to the spiritual maturity and stability of the true Christian in that church so in writing as he did the author was all about proving that Melchizedek and his priesthood was superior to the Levitical priesthood and he was building his case so as to prove that Christ Jesus and his priesthood is even greater than the priesthood of Melchizedek simply this was and is all about exalting Christ Jesus as the promised Messiah of God this was and is all about exalting and highlighting the superiority of Christ and the preeminence of Christ but what does that mean for us you might say pastor was a long message was a lot to digest and understand but what does that mean for us as mature believers these things should remind us that God was always about providing a great Savior and priest to redeem a people for himself and those of us who have been savingly converted to Christ we had the unbelievable honor and privilege of being numbered among his people and not only do we get to be a part of this people Hebrews 7 25 tells us that he Christ our Lord lives right now so as to always make intercession for us we serve a God who kept and always keeps his promises and his plans and we get to be a part of those promises and those plans we are at the center of those promises and plans and he ever lives to make intercession for us and that should move us as born-again people to worship and that should move us to a place of comfort and security this should turn into comfort and security because our God always does what he promises and we're his people for those of you who are immature believers maybe you've just come to faith in Christ so you're not very mature maybe you've been in a place where you've been converted for quite a while but certain circumstances and being in unhealthy churches has kept you from maturing in the faith the message for you is this keep on persevering in the faith keep on persevering in the faith work hard to grow and to mature in Christ and in the in the faith well how do you do that pastor come to church might say that's pretty simple that's the Bible plan come to church be under the taught word of God we understand that the word of God is taught so as to sanctify the believer be plugged into small group ministry you might say all pastor you're just advertising church no small group ministry is vital because brothers and sisters need body life we're a part of the body of Christ and the body needs body life and also serve and be served serve and be served you might say pastor that's rather simple that's biblical come to church plug your life into the life of the church be under the taught word of God grow in small group ministry serve and be served but also how how do I grow in my faith attach yourself to mature believers inside an acceptably healthy local church every young Timothy needs a Paul every young Titus needs a Paul all younger men and boys in the faith need older men in the faith all younger ladies and girls in the faith need older women in the faith and as you mature you will understand more and more and more of who Christ is what he did and you will be able to grasp and absorb this kind of teaching more and more and that will move you to worship but then last they're unbelievers here you profess Christ maybe you struggle to profess Christ but you've not been converted to Christ my question for you is this do you see that Christ Jesus is pictured here in Melchizedek do you realize what this shows you the God of all of the universe he had you on his mind when he was and is revealing himself in and through the man Melchizedek as priest of the Most High God do you think that you're here by accident or coincidence no the one true God who was and is revealing himself in and through Melchizedek has brought you here to reveal these things to you and I am confident I am confident that he is revealing two things to you this morning first you were in Adam first Corinthians 5 22 says for as in Adam all die what that means is this you were born inheriting a sin nature from Adam and you have acted on that sin nature in all men and men die because of that sin nature that's come down from father Adam and all men and men die because all men and men sin you were in sin you were in Adam do you see that you're still in sin your chain to your sin your shackle to your sin and your sinfulness you cannot get freedom in any way or in any capacity but the second thing he's revealing saving faith and eternal life can be found in Christ notice the second part of that verse in second in first Corinthians 15 22 Paul says for as in Adam all die so also in Christ shall all be made alive would you come to Christ today and live would you come to Christ today and live the sinners prayer won't save you walking down the aisle and taking the hand of a pastor won't save you being baptized won't save you being a member of the church won't save you would you come to Christ and live the only hope you have is to come to Christ and live come to Christ and live so the title of the message Melchizedek greater than the priesthood of Levi but we are seen and we will continue to see he was more because he was and is a picture of Christ he was and is a type of Christ a shadow of what was and is to come what wasn't has come in Christ so if I'm gonna add to the title of the message it would be this Melchizedek greater than the priesthood of Levi but Christ is even greater so let's pray we will commit these things to the Spirit of God to work out these things according to his will and plan for us we'll sing worship, song of worship, and close out our service.